In this article, I present a model of instructional design that has evolved from analysis and reflection on the process of designing materials for constructivist learning environments. I observed how we addressed the critical questions for instructional design, comparing the process to traditional instructional design models and to my emerging ideas of instructional design involving Layers of Negotiation. Observations of the design and development effort confirmed tentative assumptions that instructional design is a process of knowledge construction, involving reflection, examining information at multiple times for multiple purposes, and social negotiations of shared meanings. The design process evolved in a spiral fashion, progressing through stages of analysis, design and development, and evaluation. Through this project, the Layers of Negotiation model was confirmed, yet evolved to (a) identify critical areas around which negotiations should occur and (b) illuminate the nature of the recursive process.